The power of “I’ll challenge you”

I am a reading and writing guy. Math is not my strong suit, to say the least. In fact, I’ve always hated math, because I never saw the value int it.

When I present student-centered, results-only learning to educators, I’m often asked how to apply these strategies to math. “There’s a right and wrong answer,” some math teachers say. “There’s not much room for creativity and feedback.”

In this video, produced by Institute of Play, the students use the word “challenge,” explaining how it motivates them. Near the end of this video, the amazing teacher says, No matter how much math you know, “I can find something to challenge you.”

So, if you think creativity and feedback have no place in math, check out the video and consider how you might challenge your students with engaging ways to learn something that many kids don’t value.

While there may always be a right and wrong answer, understanding why those answers are important is often left out of math class.